Jon Corzine testifies before Congress

Jon Corzine probably never thought he’d find himself in this position.

The former Democratic senator and governor from New Jersey, once a rising star in his party, endured a bipartisan grilling by members of the House Agriculture Committee on Thursday over the collapse of MF Global, the brokerage firm Corzine headed until last month.

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Corzine grilled on the Hill

POLITICO 44

It was not only an embarrassing chapter for this former powerhouse financier and politician, it was a dubious historical moment: Corzine is the first former senator subpoenaed in more than 100 years, according to congressional historians. Lawmakers at the hearing weren’t even sure what to call him.

“Governor or senator — I don’t know know what to call you,” joked Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) at the beginning of his question period. A somber Corzine didn’t smile. In the end, Peterson and other members addressed him as “Mr. Corzine,” although some Republicans used “Mr. Governor” as a kind of veiled insult.

Accompanied by his wife and lawyers, Corzine faced 2½ hours of tough questioning. He was asked about roughly $1.2 billion in missing customer funds that have attracted the attention of the FBI, federal prosecutors and Congress. He was questioned about whether he fired MF Global’s risk officer after that executive objected to the company’s multibillion-dollar bet on eurozone debt, and whether, as part of the “Goldman Sachs fraternity,” he helped block federal rules that would have harmed MF Global.

And lawmakers asked him whether he thought he acted in honorably and ethically during his 18 months running the firm.

For Corzine, it must have seemed like hitting bottom. There were lawmakers, some of whom have never held any other job but politician, portraying him as an incompetent, wild-eyed “risk taker” who drove MF Global into bankruptcy by betting on unsafe European debt offerings.

“How do you explain taking a 230-year company into bankruptcy within 18 months?” asked an incredulous Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio).

A contrite Corzine was forced to acknowledge that “it would have been better” if the firm had made different investments, something you would not hear from one of Tom Wolfe’s “Masters of the Universe.”

Corzine, who made as much as $400 million during his 25 years at Goldman Sachs, was even forced to admit that he lost at least $3 million of his own in MF Global, plus millions in stock options now all but worthless. Corzine has already waived his severance package from MF Global, worth about $12 million, according to media reports

With lawmakers smelling blood — albeit politely — Corzine threw himself on his sword even before he walked in the door, though he tried to shift blame for some of the alleged wrongdoing at MF Global to others.

“As the chief executive officer of MF Global, I tried to exercise my best judgment on behalf of MF Global’s customers, employees and shareholders,” Corzine said. “Once again, let me go back to where I started: I sincerely apologize, both personally and on behalf of the company, to our customers, our employees and our investors, who are bearing the brunt of the impact of the firm’s bankruptcy.”

whether he gave anyone at MF Global permission to use customers’ funds to cover its own investment losses, Corzine hedged.

“There were people who handled the transfer of funds. I’m not one of those,” Corzine insisted. “I never intended to authorize anyone” to use customer funds. “If I did, it was a misunderstanding.”

At Goldman Sachs he had Bosses......He didn't run the show alone.

Obama and Biden called Corzine ..........the "Smartest" man they KNEW.

They called him FIRST.......... for ECONOMIC ADVICE.... and to advise them on the Stimulus.

Bill Clinton campaigned for him.

So did Obama and Biden.

Corzine offered an assault on the "old" ways of thinking in Washington and many lines from his campaign, decrying Republican "scare tactics" and promising nothing could stop progress during this "transformative moment."...."We're creating a movement for change".

Corzine may be right!! The "swaps market" is so well hidden by the Feds, that no one knows anything about it!! It's time the Feds stop their "shanigans", but the White House, Senate or Congress will do nothing!!!

Another Marxist elitist pal of Obama's who has no more respect for his private client's money than he does for tax payer money. He doesn't know where the money went? Maybe it just evaporated. I say we water board him and find out where the money went. This guy will hopefully be joining Blago in the near future

I have a great idea. Lets deregulate Wall Street completely, let the free market work.

If what Corzine did isn't illegal, it should be.

Why is it that when a dem does something wrong, it shows how corrupt all dems are but when a repub does something similar, its merely an aberration and we shouldn't read anything into it. Especially when its about equal for the number of caught crooks in both parties.